


Making New Clichés

by DragonEyez



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Modern AU, Shopping Trip, are you really friends if you dont recreate a 90s shopping montage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-21
Updated: 2017-08-21
Packaged: 2018-12-18 04:27:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11866692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonEyez/pseuds/DragonEyez
Summary: original work for a dungeon world campaign im in or: local anxious boy gets dragged on a shopping trip w/ his friend and his crush bc they love him.





	Making New Clichés

**Author's Note:**

> title from "for him." by troye sivan bc have you met me?

“You can’t keep doing this. You need to stop.”

Kavik stabbed himself in the finger with the needle he was using to repair his well-worn jacket… again. He looked up, startled to see ~~actual god among men~~ his friend Kaname leaning in the front door of his apartment looking vaguely amused ~~and perfect~~. Kavik stuck his finger in his mouth and set the jacket aside.

“Kaname what are you doing here? Not that I’m not happy to see you but- wait wasn’t my door locked? Oh no did I forget to lock it again?”

“Nope, that was me!” A voice called from somewhere behind Kaname.

“Yes. Your little friend was kind enough to let me in. I was going to knock, but, well.” He moved his hands in a “here we are” type gesture and shrugged.

Felix popped out from behind Kaname with a grin and slid something back into their pocket. “Hi Kavik!”

“Hi Felix. Please stop breaking into my house.”

“But Kaname was waiting outside for fore-”

Kaname covered Felix’s mouth with a hand and smiled easily. “Anyway, as I was saying, you need to stop repairing that jacket. It’s more patches and stitching than actual fabric at this point.”

“My jacket is fine! It still… it just needs a little TLC.”

“Reminds me of its owner. But unlike the owner, that jacket is very much replaceable. And in fact should be replaced, sooner rather than later. Agh!” Kaname wiped his pants on his pants as Felix stepped out of his reach.

“1) If you put your hand on my mouth again I _will_ bite you and 2) Kavik you got in the dumpster. It’s the Trash Jacket™. Conrad tried to set it on fire once. You need a new one.”

“I agree. I tend to think less is more, but even you seem to be taking that a skosh too far. Your clothes are falling apart at the seams. Literally.” He gave the jacket abandoned on the couch a pointed look. The sleeve Kavik had been previously attempting to sew back on mocked him where it sat.

“To put it another way,” Felix pulled a phone that Kavik was 67% certain was _not_ theirs from… somewhere and shook it menacingly. “If you don’t come with us right right now, I’ll call Hera and tell her you need new clothes.” Kavik went visibly paler. “Shopping trip with her or shopping with us? Your choice.” They had him pinned and they knew it. There was that shit-eating grin that accompanied nearly every stunt and bad decision ever.

“...Fine. Let me get some shoes on.”

“Get in loser, we’re going shopping.”

“I hate everything about this.”

Kaname clucked his tongue. “Surely you don’t hate us, right?”

Instead of responding, Kavik flushed and hurried out of the room to find his shoes. He knew Kaname was just needling him. He was always needling. It was just how he was, and sometime that made things worse.

Once he returned, his friends happily marched Kavik down to the bus stop. Felix happily chattered away and Kaname threw in an occasional response to keep momentum going. The familiarity of the banter helped Kavik relax on the walk, but he still put up a valiant resistance.

“Do we _really_ need to go all the way to the mall, though? I mean there’s a thrift store just down the street. We can just keep walking.”

“Kavik. Light of my life.” Felix interrupted his attempts at redirection before he could really even get going. “Please I have money to spend and rigged bus pass. We’re going to the mall. It’ll be an adventure.” 

That made Kavik groan. He didn’t _want_ to go on an adventure. Kaname was his last hope. Kavik sent him a pleading glance, but the other man only shrugged his shoulders. 

“I’m sorry, Kavik, but I do believe the situation is out of my control. I hear the buddy system works well in these cases, however. If you’d like, I can hold your hand.”

“Oh um well I really don’t think that’ll be necessary really? Did I remember to lock up my apartment? I should go b-”

“Nice try but I watched you triple-check that it was locked. To the bus stop!”

The bus ride was just as bad as Kavik was worried it would be but Kaname seemed prepared for it. Wordlessly he offered an earbud and Kavik took it gratefully. Focusing on the music was a good distraction from the background noise of the bus and its other passengers. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the window behind him. Leaning far enough away from the person on his right to avoid touching them meant he was making pressed against Kaname almost by accident. But the gently pressure of Kaname’s shoulder against his was grounding in its own way. It seemed like before he knew it, Felix was hesitantly shaking his arm.

“Kavik. This is our stop man.”

“Yeah alright.” He handed the earbud back to Kaname with a small smile. “Thanks for the music.”

“Anytime.” 

Felix pulled on one of his sleeves impatiently. “If you’re going to flirt, let’s do it while walking to that the bus doesn’t drive off with us still on it.”

“Of course.” Kaname stood up smoothly and gestured for Kavik and Felix to walk ahead.

“We weren’t- I wasn’t- Don’t pull on my sleeves you’ll stretch them out!” He trailed off with a grumble. Neither person paid him any attention as the hurried off the bus and Felix let go of Kavik’s sleeve to rub their hands together like a cartoon villain.

“Come on boys. Into the jaws of capitalism!”

“You don’t have to say it like _that_.”

“Sounds fake but okay. Get ready to have new clothes. Hole-free clothes, even. Or clothes with fashionable holes in them. You could be hip with the kids, as they say.” 

“Why.”

“Why new clothes?”

“No why are there pre-ripped clothes? There’s absolutely no point to it? They’re ugly and they’re almost always more expensive for half the amount of fabric. And then they fall apart almost as soon as you take them out of the store and I just don’t understand the point?!”

“As good as righteous indignation looks on you,” Kaname was guiding him through the doors as he ranted. Kavik was so absorbed in trying to get all his thoughts out that he didn’t even register the hand pushing against the small of his back to force him into the buildings. “ You should continue this line of thought in the air conditioning. We do have a schedule to keep and it’s hot outside. Not to mention, half the clothes you... salvage tend to have massive holes in them as well. Bit of a pot/kettle situation?”

“Except I repair them so that they don’t look like that! Besides, patches are in right now. I think? People come into the coffee shop with them at least. Regardless, I certainly wouldn’t spend money on things that looked like that.”

“Duly noted, Kavik. I will not force you into Yeezy or Yeezy adjacent styles. Luckily you have a thing called free will and friends who care about you. You want a snack before I make this my own personal 90s shopping montage?”

“No I’m good for now.” Kavik was… 73% sure he had a granola bar in his bag still. 70%. You couldn’t quantify certainty. There was probably a granola bar in his bag. 

“Well alrighty then! Kaname, do you wanna pick the first store or should I?”

Kavik held up a hand in objection. “Hold on don’t I get to-”

“No.” “No.”

Kavik dropped his hand. 

Luckily, his friends had decided to drag him on this adventure on one of the mall’s less busy days and Kaname brought him to a store that was much more Kavik’s speed. Most of the clothes were reserved (”Boooorrrring”) and managed to find a replacement to the Trash Jacket™ with minimal suffering. Felix produced cash from, well, Kavik wasn’t really sure where it had come from, but they paid for it with none of the usual swindling (“ _haggling_ ”). It was odd for sure, but he couldn’t focus on it too much because he suddenly had other things vying for his attention. Things like Kaname suddenly deciding to tie his hair back, and thus raising his shirt in a manner that was _extremely_ distracting. Kavik felt his mouth go dry at the sight of exposed skin and the sudden panicked thought that he was too gay to function raced through his brain. And then, just when Kavik thought it couldn’t get worse, Kaname caught him staring. And then he _winked_. 

“You know we didn’t just come here to window shop. If you see something you like, let me know.”

Kavik would like to say he reacted with composure and grace. He would like to say that he brushed off the comment smoothly and moved on to the next store. He would like to say he returned Kaname’s wink. He would _like_ to say a lot of things about how he handled the situation. The highly undignified squeak that forced itself out of his chest and his sudden impression of a stop light was none of these things. It was loud enough to catch the attention of the cashier and Felix _and_ make Kavik melt into the floor. He covered his face with his sleeves 

“Kavik you, uh, you good bud?” He heard Felix walk up next to him and felt a hand grasp his elbow. “Hey, Kavik? You look like you’re about to pass out.”  
“Are we done yet? Can I go home and die now?” Kavik was whispering, but it seemed like his friend heard him because they laughed and patted him on the arm hard enough to sting a little.

“My dear sweet summer child. We have much left to do. You can die when we take a break.”

He groaned and moved his hands away from his face to see Kaname looking away from him and Kavik felt… disappointed? Relieved? Did Kaname think he hated him now? Oh no what if Kaname didn’t want to talk to him anymore and-

“Kaaaaviiikkkk.” Felix’s voice broke his train of thought before he could let it spiral out of control. “Kavik. Look. I know you have a thing about skin contact so I’m not going to poke you but also you have several holes in your sleeves right now that would theoretically allow me to poke you to prove my point. So no we’re not done yet.”

Kavik pulled a face and looked to see that he did have a few holes riddling the much sleeves of his shirt. He must’ve missed those the last time he checked it over, how long had it been like that? “Lay on, Macduff.”

Felix did a weird little jump-clap that Kavik might’ve called endearing if it wasn’t the harbinger of his impending doom and further mortification. He flashed them two half-hearted thumbs-up and followed behind as they grabbed Kaname by the arm of the way out of the store and directed them all to a different and much bigger store. It was loud and full of the type of people who came into the coffee shop and made Kavik’s life difficult. “Trust me, Kavik.” did little to actually make Kavik trust Felix but he also didn’t have many options. 

“I’m Very Aware that this is Not Your Scene,” they said with a snort. “But you can get a lot of sweaters and whatever for cheap. They’ve always got a sale going and the shit that they mark $10 or less is usually better than whatever is actually on the floor. Life hack for you there.”

“Oh! That’s actually really helpful?” He ran an eye over the sale racks and was pleasantly surprised to find a large selection of sweaters and long-sleeves. He pulled a few items thought he thought would last a while and were blessedly hole free (intentional or otherwise) and looked up to find his friends gone. A quick survey of the store revealed Kaname on the other side looking at other things. Kavik hurried over to him after a moment’s hesitation.

“What are you looking at?”

If Kaname had been anyone else, he would’ve jumped at the sudden appearance of Kavik out of ~~seemingly~~ nowhere. As it was, his shoulders tightened for a moment before he turn to face Kavik with a wide grin. “I was finding some things for you to try on. If your friend is insistent on covering costs, I figured it wouldn’t help to broaden your horizons a little.” In his arms, Kavik could now see that he had a small collection of clothes tossed over one arm. Kavik quirked an eyebrow at the clothing.  
“I didn’t know ‘Fashion Expert’ was on your list of skills.”

“More like I’m well aware of what I like.” 

Was Kavik imagining it or did Kaname look him over when he said that? 

“Here can I, um, take those from you?” He gestured to the clothes Kaname was holding.

“I’ve got it for now! Your arms are bit full as well it would seem. Also Felix seems to have abandoned us. Care to do a little more looking around while we wait?”

“Sure I guess? Did you find anything for yourself?”

Kaname shrugged. “I have to be honest, I wasn’t really looking for myself. That said, if you want to help me look I wouldn’t say no.”

“Oh! Alright then. Let’s, uh, let’s look around some more? I think there’s more over that way.” 

They both moved towards the direction Kavik motioned to and picked over the racks over there as well. Kavik found a rack of accessories and gently rifled through them, curious to see what was being sold. A simple silver band caught his eye and he pulled it out to further examine it. The charm on it made him immediately look around to make sure Kaname didn’t see him pick it up before carefully hiding it among the few sweaters he was holding. There wasn’t much else of interest in the area, so Kavik eventually wandered back over to Kaname.

“Look, Kavik!” The other man showed him a black t-shirt covered in tiny white kittens. “It’s Ayame! Look how cute.”

The tiny white kittens were definitely reminiscent of Kaname’s own tiny white kitten. “Oh my goodness that’s _adorable_? They really do look like her.”

“There is a very high chance that I will walk out of here with this shirt. It’s very cute.”

“Yo-it really is. Hey uh have you seen Felix around? It’s been a minute and I’m worried they’ll have half the store in their pockets at this point. You laugh but it’s happened before.”

“I’m permanently banned from several areas of the mercantile persuasion.” A smug voice announced from Kavik’s back.

“Wha- Don’t! Sneak! Up! On! Us!” Kavik immediately moved away from Felix. “Where’d you even come from?!”

“Downstairs. There’s more clothes. Plus dressing rooms. Oh good you have things to try on I already got a room.”

“Oh thanks. That makes things a lot easier. Did you find something you were getting too?” 

“Yeah but the important thing is I found things for _you_! C’mon before they decide they won’t hold the room anymore.”

“I don’t know how much I trust your judgement, Felix. Remember-”

“The important thing!” Felix interrupted him with a wide “Shut the Fuck Up” grin. “Is that the past literally does not matter and if you keep going it you don’t have to think about it! Like a shark! SO, let’s go downstairs, yeah? Great. Cool shirt Kaname.” 

“Thank you Felix. You know I really don’t think that’s a healthy way to deal with-”

“I’m fiiiiine. Anyways, let’s go. If we link arms we can be like Wizard of Oz.” 

“No thanks. But yeah let’s go downstairs so we’re not holding things up I guess?” Kavik pulled his arms closer to his body and quickly went down the stairs. Despite the threat of public sing-alongs, Kavik was beginning to enjoy himself a little. He’d been busy lately and hadn’t really gotten the chance to hang out with his friends. Even if they had dragged him along on this shopping excursion, it was nice to be outside of his house and head. That was probably the whole point of the trip if he really thought about it. At the base of the stairs, Felix retook the lead and led the way to the changing room they’d saved.

“That one right there. We’ll be waiting out here so we can yea or nay your choices.” 

“Oh, don’t forget these, either.” Kaname offloaded the clothes he’d pulled for Kavik into his arms. The attendant gave all three of them an unimpressed stare as Kavik awkwardly pressed it all to his chest and moved into the room Felix indicated. Once he hung everything for easier access, he noticed several things off to the side haphazardly. With a sigh, he brought them out and held them up for Felix to see. 

“As much as I appreciate it, um, skirts are definitely not my style? Did you mean to leave this in there or…?”

They cocked their head to the side and gave them a dead look. “You know I really just thought your legs would look fantastic in those.” A beat skipped, and then they bounced up with the usual smile. “Nah I’m just messin’ with you those are mine yeah. Gimme.”

With a sigh of relief Kavik tossed the clothes to Felix and went through the _long_ process of changing in and out of various tops and outfits that had been chosen. In true 90s montage fashion, Kaname and Felix required him to multiple different poses to which they reacted with increasingly dramatic faces. The only time he actually hesitated was when he pulled on a t-shirt that was definitely not the right size. 

“Um, hey? I don’t think this is right at all?” He called anxiously, trying to pull the fabric down to no avail. 

“You’ll have to show us or else we can’t help, Kavik.” Was Kaname’s reply. 

With a long sigh, Kavik edged himself into view, feeling a bit sheepish. “I don’t, uh, I really don’t think this is supposed to fit like this? And also I don’t know how a crop top even ended up in there because I definitely didn’t pick it? But it’s- um, yeah I don’t like it’s really, well. Are you sure it’s supposed to fit like this?”

He was so preoccupied with the shirt that he completely missed his friends subtly high-fiving each other while sending him an appreciative glance. “Trust me, Kavik, it is supposed to fit like that. Besides, what’s not to like about it? It’s got a moon on it, it’s totally your aesthetic.”

“I don’t, uh, I don’t think I’ll be keeping this one sorry.” As he disappeared back into the room he could’ve almost sworn he heard Kaname mumble something about “a pity.” The next (and last) sweater had a size problem in the opposite direction: it was huge. It wouldn’t stay on his shoulders which was extremely annoying. Even his friends laughed a little at how oversized on him, but Felix pointed out that it would be equivalent to wearing “a really comfy blanket” and he nearly kept it. “Wait, you’re just describing a snuggie. You were trying to get me a fashion snuggie.”

“Oooo it is?! It is! Kavik you Have To now. Kavik. Kavik, it’s a fashionable snuggie. It’s got a moon on it and everything there’s nothing bad about the sweater. Kaname tell him to get the sweater.” 

Kaname tilted his head thoughtfully. “It’s a nice sweater. If you like it, I think you should get it.”

“I don’t really need it though.” 

“There’s no harm in indulging yourself though, is there?”

Kavik released a long stream of air and looked down at the sleeves nearly engulfing his hands. It _was_ extremely comfortable. “It’s- I guess not. And if Felix is paying…”

“Eeeexxxxaaaactly. There you go Kavik! Now you’re getting it! Kaname, you should come with us more often. I know Kavik certainly wouldn’t mind.”

“Well if Kavik wouldn’t mind.”

“Haham yeah. I’m gonna go... get changed back now? Just a minute.”

As Kavik turned to leave, Kaname said, “Wait. Do you have a tattoo?” He froze in place. 

“I...I don’t like- I don’t want- I’ll-” He left before anyone could say anything else. Kavik didn’t like to think about the memories associated with the tattoos, and he usually did his best to forget about them at all. He knew Kaname couldn’t have known he didn’t like to bring attention to them either. Still, he had to take a few minutes to sit and collect himself before he could do anything else. Once he felt more in command of himself, Kavik collected all his things and re-emerged to Felix, shirt lifted up and pointing to a tattoo of their own, animatedly telling the story behind it.

“-so I’m trapped down there, water rushing in and all I had was chewing gum and a- oh The Boy is back! You good fam?”

He shook his head fondly at the antics. “I’m older than you. Don’t call me ‘The Boy.’ And put your shirt down.”

“Kavik you will always be The Boy just accept it. You ready to bounce?”

“Yeah I’ve got everything.”

“Kay. Meet you at the register then.” And then they vanished back into the main floor of the store, leaving Kavik alone with Kaname. Neither spoke for a moment before Kaname stood up to look Kavik in the eyes. 

“I’m very sorry for causing you distress. I didn’t realize that the tattoos were a sensitive subject and I was careless. It won’t happen again.”

“Ummmmm, it’s okay? Thanks for apologizing? Let’s go get in line though now. I’m ready to get out of this store honestly.” 

“Okay. Alright. Let’s get out of here.”

They moved towards the register together and Kavik suddenly the small trinket he found for Kaname. He was relieved to find that he’d remembered to bring it with him from the changing rooms and shuffled it between two sweaters when Kaname wasn’t looking. The other member of their party was, true to their word, waiting for them near the registers. When they noticed them, they popped under the line lane and waved them over. Kaname seemed to be distracted by something though and left with a quick “I’ll be back.” Unsure of what happened, Kavik went to the line alone.

“So did y’all kiss and makeup and all that?”

“Why are you like this?”

“I’ve been informed that I’m quote-unquote incorrigible. Anyway. Gimme your shit.”  
They held their arms out expectantly, and Kavik hesitated for a moment before murmuring, “Felix, I found this bracelet and I want to give to Kaname. Can you be quiet about it?”

“Yeah man I can be chill. That’s cute bee-tee-dubs.”

“Why do you say it like that.”

“Specifically because it bothers you. Oh hey I’m next in line bye.”

“Hold on, Felix.” Kaname hurried over to the line, a white shirt clutched in his hand. “Kavik I found you t-shirt.” He unfurled it to reveal a simple picture of the moon with the caption “just passing through.” underneath it. Kavik’s eyes widened.

“I love it? Thank you?” 

Kaname’s smiled widened into a full grin at his excitement. “I saw it and thought of you. Glad you like it.”

Felix rolled their eyes and waited expectantly. “Give it here.” 

“Of course. Here.”

Kavik moved out of line to wait with Kaname while Felix paid again. Kavik could hear them muttering under their breath the whole time. “I’ve got got other interests, Felix. Your moon shirt’s no good, Felix. Me and my boyfriend are too gay and emotionally compromised to have an actual conversation. Let’s buy each other gifts on our friend’s dime.”

Kaname quirked an eyebrow at Kavik, who just shrugged. 

“Hey, what do you say after this we, um, we take a break from shopping and go to the pet store?”

“I had no idea there was a pet store here. I’d love to go there.”

“Great! Hey Felix, we’ll meet you at the pet store, okay?”

“Yeah sure. See you in a minute then.”

The pair left the store and wandered around the mall trying to find the pet store. It turned out to be a bit more difficult than either of them anticipated. Neither of them ever went to the mall enough to know the layout well and the result was wandering for a solid 15 minutes. 

“I don’t think either of us thought this through really.” Kaname laughed as they passed the same store for a third time. 

Kavik couldn’t help but chuckle as well at the absurdity. “Here, I think we passed a map at some point? Let’s look and see where we are before we get stuck in here forever. Or pass Bath and Bodyworks again.”

“Well if I had to get lost and eternally wander the mall with anybody, I’m glad it was with you.”

Kavik’s face flushed and he turned away to go look for the map he vaguely remembered being by the escalators. Thankfully, he remembered correctly and found the blessed thing instead of being forced to roam some more. After studying the map for a few moments, he found their current location and, a few moments later, the pet shop. He traced the path lightly, committing it to memory, before turning abruptly and almost plowing over Kaname. 

“I’m sorry! So sorry! Er, but I found the pet shop. It’s over in that direction. Apparently we missed a second hallway of stores or something? Anyway, let’s go.”

“Good plan.” 

This time, the walk was much shorter and they managed to spot the bright red entrance from at least 10 feet away. 

“I really don’t know how we missed that.” Kaname muttered. At the same time, he grabbed Kavik’s hand and walked briskly towards the store. For his part, Kavik wasn’t quite sure what was happening, and he couldn’t decide if he wanted to hold tighter or yank his hand away. He settled for agonizing endurance and matched pace with Kaname. All his anxiety melted away once they finally reached their destination, though, and he saw three tiny kittens playing in the window.

“Ohhhh my goodness. Kaname. Kaname look at these kittens.”

“They are adorable. In fact, I think they might be the second cutest thing I’ve seen all day. But look, there’s more inside.” He dragged Kavik through the doorway to look at the cats further in. They only really moved when Kavik noticed there were dogs in the back and pulled Kaname along in excitement. 

“Kaname I want to take them all with me. Why can’t I take them all home with me?”

“Your apartment is No Pets Allowed. Which, frankly, is nonsense. It’s okay, I want to take them all home too. But I can’t either.”

“This isn’t fair.”

“I know, dear.”

“Do you think I could steal one of these puppies for Charlotte? She would _die_ over that floofy one in the corner.”

Kavik wasn’t even surprised anymore, he just sighed. “Hi Felix.”

“Hey. No so you never answered my question. See I was casing this place until I got bored waiting and went to Lush and I really think I could steal the dog.”

“Please don’t steal the dog.”

“But it would make Charlotte so happy?”

“Yes,” Kaname agreed. “But also consider: how are you going to take the dog home on the bus?”

“Oh fuck you. Out here making sense and shit. Kavik your boyfriend is a fun-killer.” 

“He’s not my boyfriend. Do you think they’d let me pet the dogs?”

“Kavik your Non-Boyfriend is a fun-killer. And yeah man. You can go sit in the pen and they’ll let you pet a puppy.”

“Don’t you have to be an adul- I am an adult. Oh my goodness? I can pet the dogs all the time???”

“Are you… are you okay?” Kaname looked genuinely concerned.

“No. But that’s okay because I’m going to pet the dogs.”

“Yeah you are.”

Felix slipped over to one of the employees and said a few words to them before sidling back over to Kavik and Kaname. “Yeah so like, go sit in that pen over there and go nuts man.”

“I love the mall so much right now.” And Kavik dropped Kaname’s hand to go sit in the pen and play with the husky mutt that they brought out for him. In all honesty, Kavik thought those might’ve been the best fifteen minutes of his life. The puppy was content to play tug of war with him and chase whatever toy he tossed away for it and bury his hands in its thick coat. He _really_ wished his apartment allowed pets because he would absolutely take this dog with him in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, his fifteen minutes ran out and he (very regretfully) let the employee take the puppy away. His friends flashed him thumbs up, which he returned after sanitizing his hands.

“You think you’re ready to hit the food court now, Kavi? Because Kaname is buying and I’ve never said no to another person offering to feed me in my life.”

“Yeah I guess. Thanks for waiting for me?”

“What, like we were just gonna ditch you? Nah! You were having a good time, I can take time out of my non-existent schedule to make sure you’re enjoying yourself.”

“Well when you say it like that.”

“Mmmhm. Now let’s go. There’s bread bowl calling my name.” 

The food court was slightly more crowded than when they’d first arrived, but Kaname managed to find them a table that was relatively sheltered and away from the throngs of people. He also managed to get Kavik to order something with minimal amounts of deflecting and trying to bow out. Once they were all sat down, Kavik admitted that he was completely done and ready to go home. The others agreed that it was time to call it quits. Kaname apparently had some work at home to do and Felix was checking a watch that they definitely didn’t start the “adventure” with regularly. 

Which reminded Kavik. “Where _did_ you get the money for this whole thing, by the way, Felix. Cause you usually, y’know?”

Felix paused in the middle of ripping into their bread bowl to look up at Kavik with a crooked smile. “Mmm best you don’t ask. Let’s just say I did some really successful commission work recently.”

“What does-”

“Look, Kavi. Sometimes self-care is dropping $8 on a bath bomb.”

“That doesn’t even-”

“So where were you and Kaname? Cause I was waiting in the pet store for _ever_ y’all get lost or something?”

 

Kaname picked that point to jump in. “Funnily enough, yes.” He recounted the story of their Hobbit-style epic, making it a lot funnier than Kavik actually remembered it being. Eventually they all finished eating and then it was time to collect their things and move back towards the bus. Kavik condensed everything he’d gotten into one bag and tried not to think of just how much had actually been spent during the escapade. The bracelet sat at the front of his mind the whole bus ride home.

The walk back to Kavik’s apartment was much more pleasant than the one leaving, and Kavik said as much. That made both of his friends burst out laughing and Kavik cracked a grin in spite of himself. Felix didn’t hang out long after making sure everyone got into Kavik’s apartment, citing “pressing business” and then disappearing. It was only after he’d put his bag in his room that Kavik realized they’d “disappeared” Trash Jacket™ along with them. 

“You did get a replacement jacket, though.” Kaname pointed out. “That was the whole point of all of this.”

“It’s the principle of the matter. But you’re right.”

“I am, sometimes. It’s always a pleasant surprise when it happens.” 

“Oh hush.” Kavik sat on the opposite end of the couch from Kaname, knees drawn up to his chest to avoid crowding him ~~and avoiding the risk of any accidental contact~~. “I had a… nice time today. It wasn’t all as horrible as I thought it would be. It, um, helps when you have good company.” He was looking anywhere except at Kaname now.

“Mmm. I had the same thought.”

“I actually-” He leaned his head against his knees. “I actually got you a gift?” He had to uncurl a little to fish the bracelet out of his pocket and held it out expectantly. It left his grip gently and he waited to hear Kaname’s verdict.

“It’s lovely. Thank you Kavik.”

“I just, I saw it and I thought of you? I’m, um, I’m, oh uh, I’m really glad you liked it. It wasn’t anything special.”

“It’s certainly special. It’s a gift from you after all.”

Why did he have to be so nice and sweet? Kavik was reaching “melt into the floor levels” again. 

“Kavik?”

“Yea?”

“Kavik? Look at me?”

Kavik peeked up to see Kaname looking at him with- well he couldn’t really interpret that expression. “Yeah?”

“Would you like to-” Kaname was looking a little pink now too. “That is, do you want to get coffee with me? Just the two of us sometime?”

The words took a moment to process. “Just the two of us?”

“Yes.”

“Oh. Ooh. Ohhhh? Yes?”

“Yes?”

“Yes. I’d love to get coffee with me. With you. Just the two of us I mean.”

“Really? That’s great to hear, that’s amazing to hear. I’ll… oh no what time is it?” Kaname checked the time on his phone a pulled a face. “I have to go, but I’ll c- text you later okay?”

“O-okay.” 

“I’ll- Later then?”

Kavik nodded firmly. “Later then.”

“Alright.”

And with that, Kaname left Kavik’s apartment with nearly the same amount of quiet grace he’d come in with originally. As soon as he was gone Kavik buried his face in the couch cushions to cover his glowing face. He was in So Much Trouble now.

**Author's Note:**

> baby's first original work :O the working title for this was "treat yo self" and it was inspired by a long thread of headcanons sparked by lauren's amazing artwork
> 
> felix belongs to me, [kavik](https://wingboness.tumblr.com/tagged/kavik)  
> belongs to [wingboness](https://wingboness.tumblr.com/) on tumblr, and kaname belongs to our lovely gm
> 
> as always, comments and constructive criticism are always welcome and i can be found at [here](https://theunacceptablepylades.tumblr.com/)


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